Lawrence f



Sept, 20 1927.

. 1,643,083 l.. F. OTTEN sRAP BUCKLE Filed April '7, 1927 Y "n/ /Z INVENTIOR.

La ence B. @ttn A A TT ORNE Y.

Patented Sept. zo, 1927.k

LAWRENCE F., OTTEN,4 OFrORT THOMAS, KENTUCKY, AssIGNOR To FF! op" y THE WADSWORTH WATCHl CASE; COMPANY, or DAYTON, KENTUCKY-A CORPORATION or KENTUCKY.

STRAP Y, BUCKLE.

y l Applcatinrled April 7,`

lMyinvention relates to buckles and more particularly "straps A 1 l Y l One object ofmyinvention is to provide 5 simple, convenient, efficient and economical novel means for lfirmly gripping the freeend of the 'strap' and for llimiting the movementof the gripping means so that said gripping .means cannot be swung into a position which prevents ready functioningr thereof. l p t Another objectfofmy invention isto provide novel gripping means Which, when in gripping positior'i; occupy a level below the, center' ofthe' pivotl upon which said gr1pping means ispivoted and below the top ,of the buckle' frame, thereby' givingv a more' pleasing appearance totheibuckle and strap when 'fastened about the wrist of the wearer. A-still further Object of my invention is to provide a buckle adaptedjfor use upon watch straps r*wherein the buckle may be adjusted i at any desired position upon'the strap without the danger yof slipping so that when the y buckle is set'inA gripping engagement with the strap the 'usermay wear the strap .either closely encircling orjloose uponhthe wrist 4 without "dangerffoflosing the watcl The inventionfcon'sists of a frame of'metal having a laterally' extending flange on each side whichr support l'a stop andyrem'ovable bar, acani lever and cam, said removable the looped end of a strap 'and saidcam lever p iv'otally'j supporting said cam, which Vcam wedges the free end of" the strap betweenV said camV and the metal frame. f l The invention further consists in the construction,"combination, location and arrangement of parts as herein 'set fort-h and claimed. t 'In the drawing: Vi v y Fig. 1 isa top or yplan viewof the buckle with Vthe watch strap omitted Fig. 2 is ya bottomfview' ofthesame; p

Fig; 3 is afvertical cross-section of the buckle taken on a plane Corresponding .to line 3- 3 of "l `ig. 1,andshowing the ends, of the Straps'bydotted lines and the mannerI in which thecam wedges the free end of the'v strap against thebuc'kle frame;

Fig. v 4 isa similar vertical cross-seotion'of to buckles` 'for use' upon "watch This is the preferred way yapart from pivot-pin satisfactory as there is rmovalof stop-.bar 3.

-clearly shown in the figures. 1

The forward bifurcated end of said cam- 1927"'.y seriai Nol 181,792.

the buckle with the strap ends removed and I the cam-lever and camv shown in a raisedy Y. position;

Fig.y 'is an isometric view ofthe buckle with "a portion of the frame broken away,V the parts appearing invertical section taken on a plane corresponding to line 5-`5 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

6 is Vafragmentary view showing the looped end lof vthe-strap which fastens to the buckle;y Y

v lig. 7 lis a planview Of the pivoted carn-v4 supporting-lever or arm; and 1F ig. 8 is a'bottom view of the cam and campivot-bar. In :the embodiment of l'my invention as illustrated and which shows a preferred construction, 'I provide a bucklefor wrist watch straps comprising frame 1, pivot-pin 2, stopbar3,"camlever 4, cam- 5 and camfpivot- The frame 1 of the buckle consists of` laterally projecting side wallsv 7 and 8 con# nected .at theirA ends by bars 9 and 10'which maybe formed integral with said V'walls 7 and '8,' respectively, as clearly shown in Fig. Pivot-pin 2 is of the ordinary` and wellknown'v construction andis removably mounted between said walls 7l and 8, as by slidingstuds 11 and 12 itting within holes 13 and l l i l 14 in saidv sidewalls, respectively. barpivotally 'supportingy said cam leverand.v

.Stop-bar 3, asshown, is a pin similar `tov pin' 2 `and is held between side walls 7 and 8*.by slidingflugs l5 andl, respectively, iitl ting within holes 17 and 18 insaid side walls.` to provide for stopbar 3, but it will be understood that a rigid bar fixed betweent walls 7 and 8` and spaced 2 would be `just as no need for the re- The rear or-'pivoted end of cam-lever 4 is reduced 1n width and is bent upon itself to form bearing 19, which `bearing receives p inl 2`upon which it is pivotally mounted, as

lever 4 yisi-bent upon itself to form bearings 20 andv21 whichv bearings receive'and supportcam-pivOt-bar 6.

Cam-stop 22,-integral with the forward end of cam-lever 4, is positioned centrally of bearings 2() and 21 and is for the purpose of preventing cam 5 from turning completely Vof receiving said cam-stop 22 and has 'its upper face knurled or roughened, thereby forming teeth 25, which teeth greatly in# crease the holding power of the cam when wedging the strap between said cam and said bar 10, as will be more clearly described under O eration.

VOne en Aof the strap, or'the end thereof'V to which the buckle is securely attached, is

provided with loop 26, the` center of which is cut away at27, as clearly Vshown in Fig. 6. The cut-away-portion 27 receives or lits around bearing 19 of cam-lever 4. Cutaway-porti on 27divides loo l26 into separate loops 26a and 26", as clear y shown in Fig.

6, the inner edges' 26c of which bear against the outer ed es 19arof bearing 19 and tends to' hold lsai `camlever 4 in the center of frame 1, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Operation-Jip engage the strap vwith the buckle its free end 28 is passedbeneath bar 10, which causes'lcam 5 and cam-lever 4 to swing upwardly on pivot-pin 2, as olearly shown in Figli, so as'to allow its free introduction into the buckle. When the free end 28of the strap is drawn beneath bar 10 to the desired position, simply push down on cam-lever 4 until it limits or isl stopped by stop-bar 3, thus making it possible to briner the greater portion of the `teeth 25 of sai cam 5 below the edge 10a of bar lO, depend ing upon the thickness of the strap. The

Vstrain or pull of the free end 28 of the strap will cause cani5 to turn towards edgek 1()a of bar 10,v thus wedging or clamping the free end of the strap between saided e and said cam, as clearly shown in Fig. VAs

teeth 25 of cam 5 are eccentric withcampivot-bar l6, any strain applied to free end 28 of the stra `will cause said ree end to bewedged tiv'tely between said teeth and edge 10h of ar 10, as will be clearlyap-` parent by the drawings.

' jTo unlock orwithdraw the free end of the strap from the buckle, simply draw said free end or the'strap from beneath bar 9 and draw forward until the cani is turned away from edge 1()a of bar 1 0,- therebythrowing lcam-lever 4 and; ca m 5 out of. thelocking position, orto a positionv illustrated inFi'gi'l 4,'thu's freeingthe strap from .between the teeth 25 of said cam 5y and edge 10% of bar 10. .The strap may lthenbe readily removed, or the adj'us'tmentchanged, as desired.

Upon employing the recess 24 in cani 5,` andcam-stop 22 integral with cam lever-f4,- I prevent the fullrevolutio'n of the cam upon cam-pivot bar 6, which might otherwiseocd against stop-bar as shown in Fig.v 3, said free end is thus 2locked between said cam 5 and ledge 1 0a ofi bnr ,10 regardless of whether said 'free end ispassed beneath bar 9. v Y

ILIeretofore buckles having cam actionffor VVso holding the strapr would only work pr0f-` vided a strain was maintained on the vfree end of thel strap at all times and under all conditions, 'With this invention a strap may be worn loosely'around the wearers wrist' without the @langer of thefbuckle Ybecoming unfa'stened due to a diminished strain on the free end 28 of the strap. `This feature'is ac# l complished by so arranging cam 5 beneath thecenter, Ofl- Vto a positionbelow kedge 10L when pressureV is applieddownward on camlever 4.` This fis madePOSSfble due 'tothe' flexibility of the material yused-for straps,

as'fo'r example' leather or fabric, or in other words when downward pressure is applied to 4cam-lever 4 the teethv 2,5 of cam embedded into saidv strap.- Y

Another advanta e of this invention is that the gripping "e ementsare mounted to occupy a positionlwithin the frame, so that when "the strap is held in gripped position, it forms a very neat andcompact assemblage of the buckle and strap uponthe wrist of the wearer and. 'Without any/uncomfortable inwardly projecting part 'against `the. wrist.

It will b e'understood thatcertain changes and modications ofy 'the'invention may be `Inade without departingfromthe scope or spirit-thereof as defined inV the claims.

What I claimiasnew and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

5 are 1. In a strap buckle, the combination of i aV buckle frame having laterally projecting side walls, a removable pin supported by .said side walls'and carrying one end cfa strap, a cam lever pivotally mounted upon said pin, a stop for said cam-lever, a cam pivotally mountedupon said cam lever which lever has a stop thereon and'which cam is adapted to wedge the free end 'of a strap between the frame and said cam.

2. A strap buckle 'of the character described comprising a frame having. laterally projecting side walls, a strap, a c amlever, a removable pin carried by said walls andV adapted kto have one end'of said strap and cam lever pivoted thereto, and a camcarried by said lever for wedging lor binding thevr free end of said" strap within said'frame.

3. A strap buckle comprising a frame having side Walls und a pair of spaced apart 4. In combination, a buckle frame having pin bars'held thereby n combination with an opening therethrough, a lever mounted a cam lever and oem, said earn lpivotztlly Within said frame and having a cam stop 10 mounted upon said lever and said lever pvthereon, and a cam pvoted to said lever and votelly mounted. upon oney of said pin bars having a recessl therein adapted to receive and labutting` against they other of said pin said cam stop, for the purposes specified. bars. LAWRENCE F. OTTEN. 

